Introduction

The concept of futurity requires critical perspectives that go beyond the literary. This introduction sets the context for the cross-disciplinary conversations between the arts and humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines on futures-thinking that are the subject of this volume, The introduction identifies the core themes of power, action, and shifting temporal modalities that underpin constructions of futurity and practices of futures-making, It outlines current debates over the extent of human agency within these larger processes. The second half of the introduction contextualizes the essays in the book within five thematic sections and demonstrates the increasing centrality of futures-thinking in all disciplines.